8-26-07 #Disciple Bible Study Titled: “Patient! Who Me?”

[Disciple]

“Patient! Who Me?”
James 5:7-11

Intro.

A. How many of us are really known for our patience?
1. Well, it looks like this Bible Study will really be appropriate then and that it is coming at just the right time.
2. Patience is one of those topics we think everybody else needs to hear but it doesn’t really apply to us

ill- an AP poll has found that the U.S. is an impatient nation- we get antsy after 5 minutes on hold on the phone and refuse to stay on more than 15 minutes- 23% lose their patience if they have to wait in line at a store or office 5 minutes or less- 50% refuse to return to a business that makes them wait too long

3. Usually, when we think of being patient, we envision waiting a long time for something to happen

ill- somewhat like this story- a couple had been dating for several years- they were intending to get married and had made their plans, but unfortunately before they could be married, they both were in a car wreck and died- in heaven they told Peter their plans to be married and now since they were in heaven would it be possible for them to get married- Peter said they could but they would have to wait for a while- he explained it wouldn’t be long because in heaven a thousand years is like one day- so they waited a couple of days and went back to Peter- Peter told them to wait a couple of more days- they came back and Peter again told them they would have to wait a couple days- but now they wanted an explanations for the delay- Peter said, “You can get married just as soon as we get a preacher up here.”

4. James is discussing the need for patient endurance in this passage

I. The Calling of Being Patient

A. We need to get an understanding of this word ‘patient’ before we can put it into practice in our lives

1. Earlier James has called his readers to persevere-
a. James 1:3-4, 12- because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything...Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him
2. We often associate the ideas of perseverance and patience
3. Actually the word that James used in chapter 1 and is translated as perseverance is different from the word James used here in chapter 5 and is translated as patience
a. there is however, only a slight difference
1. the usual meaning of ‘perseverance’ is that of sticking like a glue, or hanging on like a pit bulldog
2. the word that James uses here for patience implies being long- tempered, and quietly suffering without complaint
4. Note in James 5:1-6, there is a strong, scathing warning against the rich who have been oppressive
a. the quiet suffering that James is talking about in being patient has application to the mistreatment that the Christians receives in this world
5. Our situations may be somewhat different today, but there is still the mistreatment and oppression of the Christian in our world
a. according to the Scriptures, it is going to get much worse before it get better
6. It is in this light that we need to understand James’ instruction about being patient-
a. and we see that James instructs us to be patient until the coming of the Lord
b. sometimes we might question where is the justice of the Lord as we see the oppression against the righteous-
1. but don’t give up- be patient until the coming of the Lord

ill- I like this prayer written by a married woman- ‘I pray for wisdom, to understand my man; love, to forgive him; patience, for his moods; because, Lord, if I pray for strength, I’ll beat him to death’

II. The Necessity of Being Patient

A. Here we want to talk about the ‘why’
1. James gives us several reasons for waiting and suffering patiently until the Lord comes
2. #1- the coming of the Lord is near
a. how can we say today that the 2nd coming of Jesus is near?
b. it is obvious from Scripture that the early Christians expected Jesus to come in their own lifetime
1. 1 Pet. 4:7 – The end of all things is near...
2. Heb 10:37- For in just a little while, He who is coming will come and will not delay.
c. but here we are, nearly 2,000 years since Jesus first came and promised that he was coming again
1. how can we say his coming is near?
2. certainly his coming nearer today than it has been
3. we do not know for certain when he will come- it could be today
d. Jesus urged us to ‘watch and be ready’
e. Peter reminds us that one day with the Lord is as a thousand
f. and so, to every generation the coming of the Lord is near

3. #2- the example of the farmer
a. James 5:7- ...See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crap and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains


b. so James says that the Christian must wait and be patient for the Lord’s blessings
c. the farmer knows that if he is going to reap a valuable crop he must patiently wait and trust the Lord
1. the farmer works hard to plant the crop, but he must depend on the Lord for the rain and the sun for the crop to grow and mature
d. so we too, must patiently wait for the blessing of the Lord’s coming
e. understand a simple principle about sowing and reaping- if you do not wait for the crop to grow, you will not have any crop to harvest
f. be patient- the precious fruit come later
4. How many will miss out on the blessing of the Lord’s coming because they did not wait patiently for the Lord to come?

III. The Result Of Not Waiting Patiently

A. Look at some results of impatience-
1. James 5:9 Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door.
2. The lack of patience makes it awfully easy to grumble and complain against one another-
a. sometimes when times are tough and it is hard to wait on the Lord’s leading and working, it is easy to turn on one another
b. we would never think of griping and complaining against God, but we find nothing wrong with griping and grumbling and being negative in our attitudes toward our brothers and sisters in Christ
1. maybe a program isn’t going the way we want it to- maybe things aren’t moving as quickly as we would want it to- maybe we think we could do a better job at something than we’re doing-
2. we need to step back and wait on the Lord’s timing and not become negative in what we say and do because the Lord isn’t working as fast as we’d like Him too

ill- have you noticed that sometimes when something goes against you, you vent your frustrations on those you love most?- you may get cut off in traffic and because your wife or your husband is seated right there beside you, you take out your frustrations on them-

c. James has already warned us against using our tongue loosely in the 3rd chapter
d. now he warns us again – James 5:9-...The Judge is at the door.
1. do not do anything that will endanger your eternal destiny-
2. the picture of the Judge standing at the door is that of judgment ready to be handed out
3. now we know that the coming of the Lord is going to bring vindication to those who have suffered for the Lord
4. but let’s not forget that the coming of the Lord is also going to bring judgment on those who grumble and complain
a. grumbling against your brother amounts to judging him- that’s why grumbling is a sin
b. we need to be very careful of our attitudes toward our Christian brothers and sisters because we are going to be judged according to what we have done and said
5. so if you are grumbling and complaining against your Christian family stop it for your own good
3. A second result of impatience is that we miss the mercy and compassion of the Lord
a. James 5:11-...The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
b. we need to remember and realize that God does not want us to suffer forever-
1. there is a time when our suffering will end
2. the Lord has mercy and compassion toward us and the suffering and hurting we endure will come to an end
c. but if we do not wait patiently we will miss the compassion and mercy of the Lord
d. James uses the illustration of Job here-
1. this is the only place in the N.T. where Job is mentioned
2. we know the story of Job and we have seen how the Lord worked and brought an end to Job’s
suffering
3. Satan threw everything he could at Job, yet Job persevered and he waited patiently for the coming
of the Lord
4. because Job waited patiently and endured he was able to see the end of his suffering- he was able to see the purpose of his suffering- he learned that in spite of his suffering the Lord was on his side
4. Let’s remember this story and example of Job-he lost everything he had
a. his possessions- his children were taken
b. but remember the end of the story- Job 42:10 And after Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before.

Conc.
Not very often do we think of the 2nd coming of Christ- perhaps we do not look forward to a new and better world because we feel so much at home in this one-
However, in times of suffering, sorrow, injustice, pain, we do have a longing for the Lord to come and remove us from all of this-yet we see that things continue to go on as they always have-
Have you ever wondered, ‘how long must it be, Lord?’

We may be tempted because of discouragement in this world to just give up, but let me remind you today that those who have truly lived for the Lord have never had it really easy in this world
Think of the prophets- think of Job
Remember that they did not give up- they trusted the Lord- they were patient until the coming of the Lord to deliver them

So we must also wait patiently for the coming of the Lord